HOKKAIDO (TR) – A 41-year-old man suspected of carrying out an arson attack inside a speciality bar in the Susukino red-light district of Sapporo City last month has died.
On the afternoon of November 26, an explosion ripped through a so-called “girl’s bar,” which is essentially a hostess club, leaving five employees and customers, both men and women in their 20s to 50s, with full-body burns, reports Hokkaido Broadcasting Company (Dec. 20).
Among them was 41-year-old Hiroyuki Kubo, the president of a construction company in Higashi Ward. Police believe he broke into the bar and spreading a gasoline-like liquid around and igniting.
Kubo, who was in a critical condition, was unconscious in a hospital with burns all over his body since the attack. Police planned to wait for him to recover before questioning him. However, he died on Thursday night.
Once the charges are confirmed, police plan to send the documents on Kubo to the prosecutor’s office for arson in an occupied building and other charges.
The girls’ bar is called Million. Prior to the incident, a person believed to be Kubo posted on social media: “I’m going to have some fun.”
The source of the incident appears to be a soured relationship between Kubo and a female employee, who was seriously injured.
The female employee had been living with him. However, on November 7, she consulted the police. “We had an argument about breaking up. My boyfriend got violent,” she said.
The next day, with the police present, the female employee moved out. At the time, Kubo said, “I am sorry.”
